Silver Lining

There is some good news in all of this. Many Americans are cooking with fresh and unprocessed ingredients again, choosing to forgo the canned beans and processed soups of the 50s. This cuts out much of the sodium added in the preservation process. And with the advent of modern refrigeration, the need for overly salting your food to preserve it is pretty much eliminated.

Now that we know where most of our salt intake comes from, here’s how to avoid it.

Smaller portions

This is a good to have anyway when trying to maintain a healthier diet. Cut your burger in half. Ask for a to go box with your order as it comes to the table. Since most of your sodium comes from restaurant foods, eating less of them or in smaller portions is an easy way to go. Chefs love making things more salty, so watch out.

Cut it out

Avoid canned and processed food. Maybe don’t make your cassaroles and hot dish recipes with canned cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soups. Let’s be honest, you’re sacrificing flavor for convienence when you use them.